The
bust seems to have been completed in the spring of 1548. In a letter to the
Duke, Cellini says that this head contains “an abundant likeness, an
accordance with the high manner of the ancients, given the daring motion of
life, full of diverse and lustful adornments, diligently worked.” The
concepts of the “style” of goldsmiths and virtuous in the imitation and
technique are all expressed. The portrait becomes a pretext for creating a
precious object where illustration and formal abstraction coincide.